Big Brother
by AmericanIdiot50
Summary: Arthur Kirkland, an average teenager likes his routines, but then one day he gets a surprise and not the good kind. He is getting not one, but two new siblings. His parents are adopting two orphans, Alfred and Matthew Jones. At first he hates them, but then he and Alfred start to grow a special bond that Alfred will later regret in life. O.C used as Confederate America.Human names.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is the first fanfic I've ever posted online! Yay! I'm really excited to share this one. My cousin and I have been working hard on this. Yes, her and I are both writing it. I hope you enjoy it! **

Chapter 1

Arthur Kirkland was a simple teen. He liked having a routine, but he didn't like surprises. So when he heard that he was going to get some 'new' siblings he was not pleased in the slightest. Now there was going to be little brats running around barging into his studying, cooking, and tea time. He dreaded the idea of being forced to greet them and care for them. As the days went by and their arrival date grew closer he was filled with dread and hatred. The day finally came and Arthur tried his best to continue his routine as unsurpassed he could without paying attention to the time or his parents, but then they came.

"Arthur, come down stairs please." He heard his parents call. Immediately he was filled with dread far worse than anything he had ever imagined. He carefully set his cup of tea down and walked out of his room.

"Coming." He responded annoyed. He headed out into the hall and down the stairs. All along the way he tried coming up with spells that would send the children away. He started reciting them in his head. Going through lists and lists, he walked into the main hallway to see both his parents waiting.

"Ok, we are going to bring them in now. So be nice and good." They both glanced at Arthur at the same time. He shrugged.

"And don't forget to smile!" They smiled wide to demonstrate. Arthur's one year younger sister, Brittany, was smiling as well. Though her smile was telling Arthur that; 'If you don't smile, I'll hurt you later'. He deridingly put on a fake smile. 'I hate you' he glared back at her. Then his parents realizing this was not going to be easy, sighed.

"Fine. Be childish." His father growled.

"Stop that you two!" His mother urged them.

Brittany then turned to her parents.

"Can we meet them now mother?" She asked innocently. His mother believing she was being honest and innocent smiled happily.

"Of course!" She chimed rushing out the door. Arthur rolled his eyes. Their father less easy to deceive stared at them both in turn.

"Be good. No fighting and make them feel welcome." He turned and strolled out of the house. Brittany quickly turned and stuck her tongue out at Arthur before following their parents. Arthur tried to retort by sticking his tongue out but just then his parents walked in with two little boys. They looked almost identical. They were both blonde, but one of the boys had longer hair than the other and one strange curl was sticking out from the side of his head. He was also holding a white stuffed bear and seemed very shy. The other little boy, who looked to have no interest in what was going on, had shorter hair and a cowlick. Arthur uninterested in either of them, proceeded to stand there looking down at them un-amused.

"So these are them?" He commented skeptically.

"Of course!" His mother smiled." This is Matthew." She pointed to the one with the bear. "And this is Alfred." She gestured to the other. He walked over to them and looked down at them. He towered over them with an expression of distaste.

"I don't like them." He said flatly before walking away and back up the stairs. He walked into his room and slammed the door. Behind him he heard his mother quickly trying to cover up his actions.

"Oh he didn't mean that! He's actually quite nice! He's just having…oh no! Please don't cry Matthew! Its ok!"

Arthur decided not to listen anymore. He sat back in his chair and went back to his tea. Trying to calm down he got back up and locked his door to be sure he would not be disturbed. This worked in his favor.

Days turned into weeks and still, much to Arthur's distress, the children had stayed around. Brittany and Matthew had grown quite close, though Alfred didn't even try to bond with anybody, not even their parents. For the most part he could ignore them but everyday around the same time they would run through the house making a huge racket. Alfred never seemed to join in or care, most of the time he would just sit by the window and have a conversation with someone who obviously wasn't there. Arthur just shrugged it off as an imaginary friend. All little kids had them.. didn't they? Of course he had never had one. He found them trivial and stupid. His fairies and unicorns were much more believable than some senseless imaginary friend. Glancing back at his flying mint bunny he shrugged.

"No point in caring I guess." He brushed it aside and continued with his work. He continued with his homework for a while. His parents were out for a dinner date tonight, so the house was quiet. Until, there was a rumble of thunder in the distance. He looked up and out his window.

"I guess its going to storm tonight." Then a large bolt of lightning flashed and the thunder boomed shaking the house slightly. He heard a loud cry come from downstairs. He bolted to his door knocking his chair over. "What was that?!" There was another crack of lightning and thunder. He heard the cry again and rushed downstairs. He ran into the living room where he was sure the cry had come from. The room was pitch black over everything. The shadows draped over everything with a slight heaviness to them.

"H-hello?" He called out. There was no movement, no sound at all besides his own voice. Then a crack of lightning streaked across the sky and there in the corner by the window he saw something, but the light faded as quick as it came and then the thunder rumbled. He heard the cry again coming from the same corner he had saw the strange figure. Slowly and carefully he walked towards it. Another flash of light lit up the room. Arthur was able to make out the figure this time. It was a child with short blonde hair ruffled and fuzzy with the cowlick sticking up in every direction. Arthur felt pity for this poor thing, completely a mess and all alone. He kneeled down beside it and laid his hand on the child's head. It cringed away from him, Arthur could feel him trembling.

"Alfred? Its ok. I'm here." He whispered kindly to the child. Alfred didn't move at all. He stayed there shaking.

"Alfred. Its ok. Nothing's going to hurt you." He pulled Alfred close, but he resisted. Then the lightning and thunder came again. Alfred panicked and jumped into Arthur's arms, hugging him tightly. Arthur was surprised and fell back. He looked at Alfred confused. 'I would never have thought he was scared of thunder storms..its kinda…cute.' Arthur wrapped his arms around Alfred and picked him up.

"Its ok. I've got you." He carried Alfred back up the stairs and into his room. He sat downo n his bed holding Alfred. "There there. Its alright. You're safe." The child clung tightly to Arthur, shaking violently.

"Calm down Alfred. Its alright." He held Alfred close, rocking him back and forth lightly. "Hush. There is nothing to fear." He seemed to calm down quite a bit. "That's better." Arthur laid Alfred on the bed gently. That's when he noticed Alfred had fallen asleep in his arms. He smiled down at him. He tucked Alfred in and wished him sweet dreams. Arthur than quietly went back to his school work and glancing back at Alfred every now and then. He started to feel different towards the child. He found the child cute and funny. After a while the stormed had calmed down and rain was tapping against the windows gently. Arthur realized it was quite late and his parents would be home soon. He looked over at the sleeping kid and was debating if he should bring Alfred to his own room or not. Just then he heard a car drive up and footsteps.

"I guess I should leave him for now." He got up and walked out of the rooms to go greet his parents. He just stepped out of the hall when he felt something tug at his shirt. He turned to see Alfred clinging to him and looking up at him.  
"W-where are you going?" Alfred mumbled.

"I was going to go greet our parents." He replied.

"Don't leave me!" Alfred suddenly said tightly hugging Arthur again. He smiled down at him.

"Alright! Come one then!" He patted Alfred on the head. "Let's go!" Alfred nodded tiredly. They walked down the stairs together just as their parents opened the door.

"Welcome home." Arthur greeted them. He realized that Alfred hadn't said anything. He looked down to see Alfred hiding behind him. "Come on now. Welcome them home too."

"…Welcome home.." Alfred mumbled. Their parents looked over at them surprised.

"Thanks!" Their mom said cheerfully.

"Well you two seem to be getting along." Their dad commented.

"I'm so happy Alfred found someone to bond with." Their mother smiled. Alfred ducked behind Arthur shyly, Arthur smiled.

"Yeah. He's not that bad once you get to know him."

"Well I'm glad you think that." His mother replied. His father gave him a 'Well how about that' look. Arthur turned away.

"He's still just a little pest! But maybe he will get better." Arthur said.

Alfred rested his head against Arthur's back and started dozing. His mother looked over at him. "He seems to be quite attached to you doesn't he." Alfred rubbing his eyes glanced at the two adults.

His mother leaned down smiling at him. "Is it time to go to bed? Do you want me to tuck you in and read you a story?" He shook his head and clutched Arthur's shirt.

She looked surprised, looking at them both in turn. "Do you want Arthur to do it?" The child nodded. Arthur looked surprised. "O-ok!" Alfred looked up at his brother. Arthur looked down at him.

"You want me to tuck you in?" He asked unsure.  
"Mmhm.." Alfred replied nodding his head. Arthur shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"O-ok…let's go to your room then.." He responded. Alfred slid his hand into Arthurs, and Arthur being completely confused and unsure of what he's supposed to do, took Alfred's hand and slowly walked him upstairs to his room. They quietly entered the room and tried not to wake the sleeping Matthew. Arthur lifted the covers so Alfred could climb under them. Alfred slowly got in and curled up. Arthur quickly tucked the blanket around Alfred until he was nice and snug. He yawned and then looked up at his brother tiredly. He looked down at him at a loss of what to do.

"We'll…uhh..good night I guess. Sleep well." He got up and started to walk out of the room.

"Good night Arthur.." Alfred replied falling asleep.

He smiled. "Good night Alfred." Then he walked out of the room closing the door quietly.

The next morning Arthur awoke to Alfred standing next to his bed. "Good morning Arthur!" Alfred said cheerfully smiling a giant goofy smile. Arthur not expecting this, spazzed and fell out of bed. Alfred looked down at Arthur on the floor and giggled.

"Silly big brother!" Alfred laughed smiling wider. Arthur looked at the child baffled. He had never seen Alfred smile or laugh before. Alfred looked down at him grinning.

"Will you play with us today?" Alfred asked.

"Play with who?" Arthur said confused.

"Well Alex and I of course!"

Arthur not sure of who he was talking about decided it was Alfred's imaginary friend. "Sure, but after I get dressed and have breakfast."

Alfred grinned even wider. "Yay! Come on Alex!" Alfred grabbed air as if he was grabbing someone's arm and raced out of the room. Arthur still lying on the floor watched as he raced out.

"What the heck…" He looked over at one of the fairies that was sitting on his table.  
"Don't ask me!" The fairy exclaimed before flying out the window. Arthur sighed and stood up. He dressed himself and then headed for the stairs. As we walked down the stairs he saw Alfred sitting in his usual spot on the windowsill, but this time he was laughing and smiling. Pointing to things outside and starting at them in awe. Turning around every once and a while and all the while talking to this so called Alex. He sighed and headed into the kitchen to make himself breakfast. Since it was the weekend he didn't really have anything to do. He pulled out a box of cereal and a bowl. His parents having already left for work, left half a pot of coffee.

"Gross." He mumbled annoyed by them. "They should just drink tea." Setting the kettle on the stove and turning it on. He walked over to the cabinets and pulled out a bag of English Breakfast Tea and a cup.

"Ahhh I love tea!" Hearing the kettle go off he turned off the stove and filled the cup and took two bags out and putting them in the cup. "Always drink stronger tea in the morning and just before bed." He recited to himself. He took his cereal and tea than sat down at the dining room table. He ate his cereal slowly. Deciding on what he should do today when he saw something in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw nothing.

"Hmmm.." Just then he saw a little strand of hair sticking out in the doorway. It was Alfred's cowlick. 'What is he doing?' Alfred wondered to himself. He went back to eating, but kept an eye on the cowlick. It slowly moved down until it was close to the ground and then all of the sudden Alfred rolled into the kitchen, stopping behind the counter. Once again he was completely hidden except for his cowlick. Arthur became curious of what he was doing and was also slightly amused. He finished his breakfast and stood up to bring the bowl back to the kitchen. Arthur walked past Alfred pretending he couldn't see him, but as he walked past he saw someone else who looked almost identical to Alfred. He turned and looked at Alfred confused. Alfred not paying attention to Arthur didn't notice. Arthur shrugged it off. His mind must have been playing tricks on him. He put the bowl in the sink and quickly rinsed it, then turning around he saw Alfred standing right behind him. He jumped slightly not expecting Alfred to be that close.

"Uhh…Alfred what are you doing?" He asked. Alfred looked at him intensely.

"Have you seen Alex?" He asked.

"I don't believe so.." Arthur replied. Alfred glared at him.

"Are you sure? Hmmm..Oh!" He turned looking at something than ran out of the room. Arthur watched being somewhat baffled. Now he kind of wanted to know who this Alex was. He followed Alfred into the living room, where he was hiding behind a couch.

"Alfred?" He called out. He heard a shhh from behind the couch. He went towards it and peeked behind the sofa. Alfred was crouched behind the couch staring at something.

"What are you doing?" Arthur whispered.

"I'm playing capture the flag with Alex." Alfred said. Arthur raised a thick eyebrow.

"Who's winning?"

Alfred looked at him. "I'm not sure.. I haven't looked at my flag in a while."

"Where is your flag?"

"Over by the window."

"Have you found Alex's flag yet?"

"…no.."

"Hm.." Arthur thought for a moment. How in the world do you play capture the flag by yourself? All of the sudden Alfred jumped and ran off. Arthur, confused, followed. The child ran into the dining room and hid behind a curtain.

"Stop following me!" Alfred hissed from behind the curtain. "You are going to give me away!"

Arthur chuckled. "Okay, okay." He said going into another room. As he walked out of the room he heard a loud cry. Turning around he saw Alfred holding flag.

"Alex you cheater!" Alfred complained. There on the ground was another flag. Arthur looked flustered. 'What the.." Arthur turned away deciding to leave it alone but then he heard another voice.

"I won slave!" He turned again but there was only Alfred. 'This is really odd.." He thought. Alfred was frowning at the open space next to himself. Arthur being completely confused decided to try to forget about it. This didn't really help, since Alfred seemed to talk about Alex quite often. As if Alex was always with Alfred where ever he went.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alo! Quick upload I know. Faith and I have been working hard on this. Chapter 3 will take a little while to do. It should be up hopefully by this weekend. I also forgot the mention the ages for people..eheh. **

**Arthur is 16**

**Alfred and Matthew are 7**

**Also warning for Francis being a bully, potatoes, and Alex. **

Chapter 2

The weekend went by with little interaction between the two even though they had grown quite close. Then Monday came and it was time for the twins to start school. Neither of the two wanted to go. That morning Alfred had clung to Arthur like a life line, but Matthew was a little more willing. Just a little. Arthur tried to urge Alfred.

"Come on. You got to go. Try and make some new friends. I know you will like it there so just try ok?" Arthur said.

"I wanna stay with you.." He mumbled. Arthur kneeled down next to Alfred.

"Come on. Its ok. I'll be here waiting for you. Try to have fun, and when you come home we can play together. How does that sound?" Arthur smiled at Alfred.

"Ok.." He replied. Arthur nodded happily.

"Good! Now go have fun!" He said helping Alfred into the car. After about a twenty minute drive, Alfred and Matthew were being dropped off at their new school. Alfred look at Arthur pleadingly 'Please don't make me go' he as begging silently. Arthur knowing he needed to be stern shakes his head.

"Sorry but you have too. I'll come and pick you up. Ok?" He said. Alfred frowned, but nodded and reluctantly followed Matthew inside the school. Arthur watched them until the doors closed behind them.

"Alright mum. Let's go." He said.

Both Matthew and Alfred walked into their new homeroom. Mr. Yao stood to introduce them to the class.

"Now class, these are our new students." He walked over to Matthew. "This is Matthew Kirkland." Matthew waved and smiled.

"Hi!" He said. Mr. Yao smiled at him.

"And this is Alfred Kirkland." He said. Alfred waved slightly, not looking up. Mr. Yao looked at him unimpressed.

"Can you say hi Alfred?" He asked. Alfred looked up at him sad.

"Hi." He frowned.

"Ok…well take your seats. Sit where ever you want." He said gesturing to the others students. Both the boys went to go take their seats. Alfred took his seat in the back of the room by the big Russian boy. The other boy smiled at him nicely but didn't say anything. Matthew went and sat by this Cuban looking kid.

"Hi." The Cuban kid said to Matthew. "My names Ishmael! Nice to meet you."

Those two became fast friends after that. Alfred still didn't try to make any friends. During lunch Matthew sat with Ishmael and a few others, while Alfred sat alone. The Russian, who was also sitting alone, noticed him and came over. He sat across from Alfred, he didn't say anything. He just ate quietly and smiled at Alfred every once and a while. Alfred tried to ignore him. He wondered why the Russian kid sat with him. Didn't he already see that he was with somebody? After bit a couple kids walked up to the Russian.

"So Ivan," The one with blonde hair said. "Looks like you finally found someone who will sit with you. Oh wait! You weren't even invited to sit with him were you? He's just ignoring you!" The other boys laughed. "No one likes you do they?" After that comment a handful of mashed potatoes flew into the leaders face and hair. He got hit straight on and knocked back. The other boys gasped as the kid wiped the food off his face.  
"Who did that?!" He demanded. He looked around and when he turned his back to Alfred's table he got hit again. The boys snickered. Ivan looking confused mumbled "A-are you alright Francis?" The boy, Francis, spun around towards Ivan.

"Do I look ok to you loser? My hair is a complete mess! I will find who is doing this and they sh-"Francis was hit again, this time by potatoes with gravy mixed in. One of the boys next to him looked over at Alfred, to see him sitting there with the spoon in his hand filled with another thing of potatoes.

"Hey.. Francis it's the new kid he's-"He was hit dead in the mouth with the next shot. Alfred quickly reloaded his spoon and prepared himself for another attack. Francis looking at Alfred began to yell. "How dare you mess up my hair like this!" He pointed to his head.

"It looks better now than it did before." Alfred replied calmly. Francis turned a deep shade of red. He looked like he might explode.

"Teacher!" He yelled. "Teacher! Alfred is bullying me!"

Alfred rolled his eyes and rested his head in his hand. The teacher came over and saw Francis covered in mashed potatoes and gravy.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he exclaimed. "Alfred Kirkland! You are going to the principal's office right now! And you are going to explain your actions to her!"

Alfred sighed and stood up, then walked out of the cafeteria. He glanced back to see Francis sticking his tongue out at him and the other boys smirking. The boy named Ivan on the other hand looked slightly concerned and upset. Alfred shrugged and went out into the hall, heading for the principal's office. The teacher led him to the door that said principal's office. Opening the door he directed him to sit down. Alfred walked over to the chair and sat down. There was a gold plaque on the desk with the name of Mrs. Braginski. Alfred wondered why the name sounded familiar. The woman looked up from her paper work once she saw Alfred. To the boy she looked mean and scary. Not the normal scary but the cruel and deadly 'I'll kill you' scary. She sighed.

"What do you have for me today Mr. Yao?" She asked.

"One of our students said that this young man was bullying him. There's plenty of proof for it." He replied. She sighed again setting her paper work down and looked straight at Alfred. Her stare, which was as cold as ice, made Alfred shiver.  
"You are our newest student aren't you? Alfred is it? Well Alfred, we do not tolerate bullying. So I don't want to catch you here again or we will have to call your parents." She glared at him for a minute making him feel uncomfortable and horrid. "Ok, go back to class with you." He stood up slowly and walked out of the room.

"Alex!" he mumbled under his breath. "Look what you did! You got me in trouble! Why do I listen to you?"

"Because I'm the one who got the smart half, slave." Alex chuckled. Alfred glared at him. He certainly wouldn't be listening to Alex anytime soon. Mr. Yao watched Alfred concerned.

"Who are you talking to Alfred?" He asked. Alfred looked up at him.

"Alex." He replied plainly.

"Who is Alex?" He asked confused. Alfred just shrugged. Mr. Yao looked concerned but decided to not press it. They walked to the gym.

"Alright, its time for recess so go play." Mr. Yao said opening the doors. Alfred nodded and went inside. The gym was full of kids all around his age. He spotted his brother on the other side of the room playing four square with his new friends. Matthew waved at him, beckoning him to come over, but he didn't. He just went and sat in the corner with a basketball. He tried spinning it on his finger but failed multiple times. After a few minutes he was sort of getting hang of it. All of the sudden he was pushed and he fell down, the basketball rolling away from him. Landing on his butt, Alfred looked up to see Francis standing over him.

"Hey you! New kid!" Francis said cruelly. "Get up! I'm not done picking on you yet!"

Alfred just glared at him and didn't move an inch. Francis glared back annoyed.

"I said get up!" He kicked Alfred in the stomach. He doubled over in pain. He was getting real sick of this French kid.

"Get up you worthless orphan!" He growled. "Yea I know! What did your mommy and daddy not love you anymore?"

That set him off. Alfred jumped up and punched Francis square in the jaw, sending him backwards onto the floor.

"You know nothing about what happened! Nothing!" Alfred yelled at him tears forming in his eyes. He ran out of the gym as fast as he could. He ran until he was in the dark deserted hallway. He sat at the end and started to cry silently.

"They don't understand… they could never understand." He sobbed.

"We should have beat him up more!" Alex yelled. "Oh man that was amazing! Let's go back and kick his-"

"Shut up Alex!" Alfred yelled at him. He hugged his knees and tried to become invisible like his brother who used to be so good at doing. All the horrible memories were coming back, even when he thought he had locked them away for good they always somehow escaped. He sat there for what seemed like hours. Just sitting alone, sobbing. Alex who had gotten bored had even left him. Now he was all alone, sitting in the dark and the cold, with nothing but his own thoughts and the memories that haunted his dreams. Oh how he wished Arthur was here. Arthur was so kind to him and he made all the scary stuff go away. 'He acts like how she used too.' He shook his head. He shouldn't remember that. It just brought back the recollections of what led up to his parent's death. Then he heard a voice calling his name. 'Go away! Go away! Go away!' He thought. 'None of you understand me! None of you know my pain!' Then he heard the voice again. This time he looked up puzzled. 'Could it be? Is it him? Did he come here just to fine me?' Alfred sat there frozen watching the end of the hallway. The voice slowly grew louder until a figure appeared at the entrance.

"Alfred? Is that you?" Slowly Arthur walked down the hallway until he was standing only a foot away from Alfred. It only took the boy a matter of seconds to leap at his older brother and cling onto him for dear life as the tears started streaming down his face again. Arthur surprised by his brother's actions fell back. Then smiling, he wrapped his arms around Alfred and holding him close, he proceeded to stand up, still holding him. He then walked out of the darkness and into the light. Alfred was so happy to be in his arms. All the horrid memories dissolved and were replaced with the happiness his new brother had brought him. Alex scowled at the scene. Everything would have been better if Alfred would have manned up and kicked that French idiots butt. Alex walked away, deciding he would only come back after Alfred was shown that he need him.

"I was the one who threw the food at Francis! I was the one who punched him in the face! That stupid Alfred! Always holding me back, holding us back!" Alex complained. Alfred watched as Alex walked out of the building. He wondered where he was going but decided not to. Maybe he would finally get some peace of mind and be able to think about happy things instead of hurting people. He knew he would miss Alex but he knew it would be better if he left. He didn't see Alex the whole rest of the day. Not even the next morning when Alfred and Matthew were being dropped off at school again. It seemed odd to him. 'Did Alex really leave? Was he gone for good?' He pondered this as he walked into school. 'Maybe sister was wrong.' He walked straight towards his homeroom. 'What should I do about Alex?' He walked right in not paying any attention. He sat down at his desk and put his backpack down. 'Maybe this isn't as good as I thought.' That's when he heard a strange voice come from his right side.

"привет."

He looked over confused to see the Russian boy, Ivan, smiling at him.

"What?" Alfred asked.

""привет." He repeated himself.

"…Private?" Alfred said trying to repeat it. He shook his head apologetically.

"Sorry. I mean hello!" He smiled again. "Still having trouble with speaking English."

"Oh… Hello. You're Ivan right?" Alfred said. He smiled wider.

"Its so kind of you to remember my name! Da! I Ivan!" He said. Alfred laughed and extended his arm for a handshake.

"I'm Alfred F. J-.. Kirkland!" He smiled. Ivan smiled wide. He looked so happy to have someone talk to him. He took Alfred's hand and shook it vigorously. His hand being a lot bigger then Alfred's seemed more like a bear's paw then a hand.

"Da! Da! Nice to meet you! Da! I Ivan Braginski!" He was still shaking Alfred's hand, and it was starting to hurt.

"Heh.. Ivan… you can stop shaking my hand now." Alfred said. Ivan realized that he was still shaking his hand, let go and hung his head apologetically.

"Da. извините!" He said.

"Um.. I dunno what izvinite means but its fine." Alfred said with a reassuring smile. He smiled back, with the happiness returning to his eyes. Then something clicked in Alfred's head.

"Oh! Wait! You have the same last name as the principle." Alfred said. The happiness drained from Ivan's eyes and he looked away hanging his head.

"Da.." He replied.

"Is she related to you?" Alfred asked.

"… Da…." He nodded slowly.

"What's wrong?:

"She is my мать..."

"You're what?"

"My… mother.." He mumbled. He was hunched over at his desk. There was a depressing feeling in the air around him.

"Oh.." Alfred said not really sensing the mood change. "Why don't you tell her about Francis?"

He seemed to grow smaller and farther away. "She would yell at me.."

"What for?"

"For letting them get to me.."

Alfred thought for a moment. With Ivan's size and his mom running the school, he is a good target for bullying. Then an idea popped into his head.

"From this day on they'll have to get through me first!" He said pointing to himself. "Because that's what friends do! They stick up for each other." He grinned. Ivan looked up at him surprised and dumbfounded. Then a giant grin spread across the face.

"You want to be my друг?!" He stood up grinning, he towered over Alfred and made him feel a little uncomfortable. "Really?!"

"Of course!" Alfred replied. Ivan leaned down and hugged him. Alfred felt more like he was being hugged by a bear that was trying to kill him rather than his first friend.

"Da! Da!" Thank you!" He squeezed tighter making it hard for Alfred to breathe.

"Uh.. Iv… can't.. breathe.." Alfred croaked. He let go nodding apologetically.

"Da. извините." He sat back down while smiling wide at him. Alfred returned with a smile after he could breathe. The rest of the class went by smoothly. Ivan and Alfred even sat next to each other during lunch. Ivan wore the same huge grin for the rest of the day, and Alfred couldn't wait to tell Arthur all about his new friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! Another chapter! Chapter 4 is in progress. Not sure when that will be up. Faith and I are planning things...special things...**

**ANYWAY! More mean Francis in this one...and Alex. Enjoy! **

Chapter 3

Two years had gone by. Not a lot had changed, Ivan and Alfred were still friends. Yet they were both still bullied by Francis. Alfred never told his parents or Arthur about it. Nothing really serious ever happened between the two so there was really no point in telling them. Another thing had changed though, Alfred hadn't seen Alex since the day he left at the school, two years ago. Even though he thought he saw a glimpse of him every now and then, Alex had completely disappeared. Until the day came where he came back and his parents and Arthur found out about the bullying. It started as a normal day. Alfred, used to not having Alex around, walked into school with his brothers and met Ivan. Arthur didn't seem to mind Ivan all that much. Even though Alfred didn't know at the moment, that was a good sign. Ivan and him had kind of bond. You take care of him at school and I'll take care of him at home kind of thing. Even though Ivan wasn't the most protective he helped Alfred a lot just like Alfred had helped him. Both of them were thankful that Alfred was pretty dense. They had a pretty average school experience until the day of the field trip. It was to a farm, and sadly for both of them Francis wasn't sick this day. They left for the trip right after the first bell. The two boys sat in the very back of the bus, while trying not to be noticed by Francis, but of course Francis brought all his friends to the back too. Just to bug Alfred and Ivan. It was horrible all the way to the farm. Francis wouldn't stop talking about how rich he was and how he got all the new toys for his birthday. All of his followers were listening in awe as he spoke, but Alfred and Ivan just made fun of him. Francis didn't let it get to him. He just kept going even when they got to the farm. Then finally they all had to get off the bus. Ivan and Alfred got away from Francis as fast as they could and waited for they teacher to get ready.

"Alright you will be split into groups and take different tours of the farm." The teacher announced. She called off names and to the horror of the boys, Francis was put in Alfred's group and Ivan was put the other. Ivan hesitating slowly walked to his group and Alfred deridingly walked to his. Alfred frowned as he reached his group and his frown deepened when Francis walked up to him.

"Hey you stupid twat. Just be a good little boy and do as you're told." Francis ordered.

Alfred grumbled quietly.

"Good!" Francis said.

They both started following the teacher as she pointed things out and talked about boring stuff. Then they came to the petting zoo. It was filled with all sorts of cute and soft animals, even pigs.

"Go ahead and pet some of the animals while I talk to the farmer." She said. Alfred enjoyed looking at all the animals, but then he came to the pigs. He never really liked pigs, since he thought that Francis was one. He was leaning over the fence of the pen, when all of the sudden he was pushed in. Alfred fell, face first into the mud. Then he heard laughter behind him, and that laughter could only belong to one person. He pushed himself up and glared at Francis.

"Whoops! Did someone slip?" Francis laughed.

Something came over Alfred that he hadn't felt in over two years. He threw a handful of mud at Francis and it hit him right in the mouth.

"HAHAHAHAH! YEA THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" Alex yelled from beside him. Alfred looked over at Alex dumbfounded. He smirked at him.

"Yo! What's up?!" Alex said.

"Where have you been?!" Alfred asked.

"Haha! You know me! I've been exploring and stuff!" He winked at Alfred. He wasn't sure what to say, yet he didn't have much time to reply since Francis had come to his senses.

"Hey stupid! How dare you cover my new clothes in mud!" He growled.

"You asked for it." Alfred replied. Once again that feeling came over him and he threw another ball of mud at him.

"STRIKE TWO!" Alex yelled acting out an ump for a baseball game. Francis was so stunned he didn't move. Alfred didn't even feel guilty for doing it, which was odd. Then Francis had enough.

"YOU STUPID WORTHLESS ORPHAN!" He picked up some mud that was outside the pen and threw it at Alfred. "No one wants you! That's why you are an orphan! No one needs you! That's why you only have one friend! No one cares about you!"

"Shut up! You don't know anything about what happened!" Alfred retorted.

"Yea you're right! But guess what?! I don't care! And no one else does!" Francis yelled.

Alfred threw another handful of mud at Francis and he began to throw them back. That was until the teacher came and stopped it all.

"What are you two doing?!" She came storming in. They both stopped instantly.  
"Explain yourselves! Now!"

"Francis pushed me into the pen and started bullying me." Alfred said.

"I did no such thing! He fell in and then blamed me! Then he threw mud at me!" Francis argued.

"I only threw mud because you wouldn't leave me alone!"

"You are one big messed up jerk Alfred!"

"You're the one who's been bullying Ivan and me for the past two years!"

"You lie! And you were the one who threw food at me the first time we met!"

"You were picking on Ivan!"

"What are you-"

"Stop this both of you!" The teacher yelled. Everyone went silent. Even Alex, who this whole time had been jeering at Francis and cheers on Alfred.

"We will finish this conversation after the field trip with your parents. Now I expect both of you to be quiet and behave." The teacher ordered. Then Francis stuck his tongue out at Alfred after the teacher turned her back. Alfred frowned getting out of the pen. He was covered in mud and it was starting to dry. The other kids laughed when they saw Alfred's clothes.

"Look he's just like the pigs now!" They peered and jeered. Alfred tried to ignore them best he could throughout the rest of the field trip. They got back on the bus and Ivan saw him. He looked at him puzzled and worried, but didn't say anything. Alfred just walked to the back of the bus and sat by the window, looking out. He didn't say a word the entire time. Then they got back, and there were his parents and Arthur, already waiting. Alfred waited till everyone else got off the bus, so that he could be the last one. He really didn't want to get off. His parents would probably get mad that his clothes and half of his face were covered in mud. As he got off, all of the sudden he was being picked up and squeezed tightly. Not expecting this whatsoever, Alfred looked at the person who was holding him. He realized it was Arthur.

"A-Arthur?" he said. Arthur tightened his grip.

"You stupid git. Don't worry me like this. Why didn't you just tell me you were being bullied?" He said.

"…" Alfred stayed quiet. The teacher walked up.

"Take him home for now. The principal would like to have a conversation with both you and Francis' parents this weekend though." She said. Arthur nodded. He immediately started to walk away with Alfred ignoring the teacher.

"Let's go get you cleaned up." Arthur said. Alfred didn't reply. He was too lost in thought. 'Where did Alex come from? He just appeared when I threw the mud at Francis.. I don't get it.' Alex was walking alongside them smirking. Alfred glanced down at him.

"Hehehe! That was fun!" Alex grinned.

"Shut up Alex.." Alfred mumbled. Arthur ignored this comment. Even though it had been quite a while since he heard that name. He decided he would let Alfred forget about Alex. Or so he hoped he would. The car ride home was quiet. Nobody talked or wanted to start up a conversation. Then they got home.

"Go get cleaned up Alfred. We will talk afterwards.." His parents said reluctantly. He nodded and head up the stairs. Arthur followed him silently. Alex as well, but a little more loudly. Alfred headed into the bathroom to clean off his face before he changed clothes. Arthur stopped him on his way out.

"Take a shower." He ran his hand through Alfred's hair. "Your hair is full of mud." Alfred nodded and went to go get things he would need. Arthur waited at the door.

"Hey you know.. They aren't mad at you…" He said. Alfred waited till after his shower to reply to Arthur. Once he was done and changed into clean clothes he opened the door. His hair was wet, but that one strand of hair still stood up. Arthur chuckled lightly. Alfred looked up at Arthur.

"If they're not mad.. then what do they want to talk about?" He asked.

"Aflred.. we are worried.. we want to help.. if you'd only let us.." Arthur replied.

"Oh.." Alfred said as he headed for the stairs. Arthur reached out for him but let him walk away. He slowly followed him. 'I need to protect him…' Arthur thought. Alfred walked down the stairs and into the living room where his parents were waiting. Arthur followed close behind. Alfred sat on the couch across from his parents. They both looked at him with concern. Arthur stood right behind him. 'I can't let this happen again… I must protect him.' He thought. Alfred sat there in silence, not really sure how this conversation would go.

"Alfred.. All we want to know is what happened." Their mother said.

"About today?"

"Yes.."

Alfred sighed. "When the teacher lead us to the petting zoo part of the trip… Francis pushed me into the pig's pen. Then he started laughing and making jokes. I wanted him to stop so I threw some mud at him… then he got mad and started calling me orphan and kept saying that nobody wanted me…" They all looked at him in distress. Then they all hugged him at the same time.

"Oh Alfred.." His father whispered.

"My poor baby…" His mother said. Arthur said nothing. 'I am going to protect him from people like this Francis. I swear to you Alfred. I will protect you.' He thought. Alfred just sat there, not really sure what emotion to show. Sadness? Relief? He knew Francis would just keep doing it no matter what anybody did. Arthur felt great anger run through him. 'One day… I will make him pay for what he did to you.. I swear… he will pay…'


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay! Another chapter!... I had to change the rating on this story.. Heh.. Blame Faith! *grabs shield and holds it up*. It gets pretty intense after this chapter.. eheh.. **

Chapter 4

A couple days went by and things at school didn't go very well for Alfred, though that weekend his parents went to go talk with Francis' parents and the teachers. They came home that night looking sad and tired. Arthur was up in his room helping Alfred with homework and Brittany was doing the same with Matthew.

"Hey guys… we're home.." They called up the stairs. They got a couple shouts of hellos from the children, but Arthur went down stairs to ask them what had happened.

"They blamed Alfred for everything and threatened both the principal and us… Alfred is temporarily suspended.." They replied.

"For how long?" Arthur asked.

"We aren't sure yet.." His mother said. Arthur frowned. They both looked tired and sad.

"Can you bring Alfred down..?" His father asked.

"Sure.." Arthur said heading for the stairs.

"Thanks.." They said. He walked up the stairs and into his room. Alfred was studying hard for his test that was coming up. Arthur frowned. 'This isn't fair. That kid is a spoiled brat! Alfred doesn't deserve this!' he thought. Alfred looked up at his brother when he came in. Arthur smiled slightly.

"Come on downstairs." He said.

"Okay." Alfred said setting his homework down and followed Arthur out of the room. They walked down the hall when they heard a noise. Alfred instantly clung onto Arthur and he held Alfred close.

"W-what was t-that?" Alfred stuttered.

"I'm not sure.." Arthur whispered. Alfred tightened his grip. They heard footsteps coming from the living room. Arthur held Alfred close as he peeked down the steps to see only darkness. Alfred shook violently. Arthur turned to Alfred.

"Stay here. I'm going to go look and see what's happening." He said. Alfred's eyes grew and he buried his face into Arthur's side, shaking his head.

"Don't go! You can't go! What if something happens to you?! Don't leave me!" He sobbed. Arthur squeezed Alfred.

"I promise. Nothing is going to happen. I will come right back. Don't worry." He said gently. Alfred shook his head again. Arthur reluctantly pulled Alfred away from him.

"I'm going now. Stay here alright? I will be right back." He began to slowly descend the stairs. After Arthur had disappeared from sight, Alfred started to descend the stairs himself. He saw Arthur slowly walk to the couch in the middle of the living room. Everything was dark and scary. There was stillness to the air that made the tension almost unbearable. Alfred couldn't take it, his breathing started to uneven. The scene reminded him of that one night. A loud crash came from the kitchen and hushed voices. Arthur slowly walked in that direction. Alfred felt dizzy. He leaned against the wall trying to focus his eyesight on his brother. Arthur slowly crept towards the kitchen when a loud shriek exploded out of the room. He came stumbling back as his mother raced out of the kitchen. Alfred froze in place, everything seemed to much like that one night. His mother came stumbling towards Arthur.

"Arthur! Protect the children! Get out before-" Just then a figure came charging out with long golden blonde hair. It ran towards his mother pulling out a knife and holding it high above its head and drove it into her mother's spine. She stood for a moment with an almost completely blank expression. She stopped in mid step and mid-sentence. She turned slightly and then collapsed upon the ground. Alfred's heart started racing as he stared at his mother's body. His breathing started to get worse and he felt as if he were reliving a nightmare. All the feelings he had during his dreams came back to him. He felt alone, helpless, pain, and vulnerable. He couldn't move. She was going to come after him next. She always did in his dreams, and then father would come home. Then he would be gone, and he would be the last one. All alone. Arthur stood frozen to the spot his mind racing but nothing was really clear. He stared at his mother's body as it lay there on the floor. The room began to spin and he completely forgot about the figure in front of him, but then he put a foot on her body and leaned down yanking the knife out of her back. Alfred watched as the intruder grabbed the knife. His eyes grew and took a step back. 'I'm n-next…I'm al-always n-ext..' Alfred thought over and over again. The intruder raised the knife into the air and stepped towards Arthur. Arthur stepped backward, but his leg gave out and he collapsed. He looked up and watched the intruder come closer. 'I'm going to die! I'm going to die!' he thought and he looked up to see Alfred watching him in complete terror. 'Arthur you have got to move! Move! MOVE!' He rolled to side just as the knife came down. He dodged it just barely and he jumped up. The attacker turned, readying the knife again. Alfred felt like he was going to pass out. She was readying herself, he knew she was. He needed to go hide. The attacker turned to Arthur again. Arthur ready this time waited for the attacker to lunge, but just before he did their father came stumbling out of the kitchen. "No!" He yelled, grabbing the intruder and pulling him back. Arthur watched in horror as his father wrestled with the man. He could see that his father was bleeding and that he didn't have a chance against him. "Go take your siblings and leave!" He said. Arthur stood there frozen. "Arthur Kirkland I order you to get them all out of this house! Do you hear me!" Arthur nodded turning and running towards Alfred.

Alfred didn't move. He couldn't move. If he moved she would hear him. Arthur grabbed Alfred and held him under his arm. "Let's go Alfred!" Arthur ran up the stairs and seeing out of the corner of his eye as his father was stabbed in the stomach. Arthur stopped, he watched in utter horror as his father was stabbed repeatedly. Then the man turned to them as their father laid there on the floor bleeding out.

"I-I go-tta hide..y-yeah..s-she won't f-find me i-if I hide.." Alfred stuttered slipping out of Arthur's hold. Arthur surprised, grabbed him and held him tight.

"Come on!" He ran up the stairs struggling with Alfred. "Brittany! Get out of the house! Now!" He ran to the end of the hallway to the window. He opened the window looking out. "The pool is right below us.. is it safe enough?" He looked at Alfred. The child didn't look himself. He kept going on about hiding from someone. "Forgive me Alfred!" Arthur whispered. He tossed the boy out of the window and into the pool. Arthur watched as Alfred flailed falling into the pool. He went under but didn't come back up. "Crap!" Arthur yelled. "Brittany! Jump out this window alright!" He looked back at her, she watched him confused. "DO IT NOW!" He yelled at her. She picked up Matthew and jumped out. 'Please get Alfred! Please get Alfred!' He watched as she dragged Matthew out of the pool. 'Darn it!' He got out onto the windowsill. "I'm coming Alfred!" He called out and then jumped. He felt the cold water surround his body. When he opened his eyes, they stung from the chlorine. He looked around for Alfred. He began to swim to the bottom ignoring the pain. 'I have to find Alfred!' His lungs began to burn form lack of oxygen. He could swim for much longer. It was getting to the point where he had to get air. 'Darn it Alfred!' Just then he saw him, lying on the bottom. He swam down pushing himself. He grabbed Alfred and swam to the top. He gasped for air and placed Alfred on the concrete. He pushed himself up and climbed out of the pool. Alfred wasn't moving. He leaned down to check if he was breathing. He wasn't. Arthur started to panic. He tried to remember how to do CPR.

"Alfred come on!" he tilted Alfred's head back and began to beat on his chest. "Come on!" Nothing happened for a couple of minutes, but then Alfred started choking up water. "Oh thank goodness!" Arthur yelled hugging Alfred. The child shook while trying to breathe normally. Arthur picked him up. "We have got to go!" Arthur led everyone out of the backyard, all the while looking around for the intruder. They went to the neighbor's house and knocked on the door. "Please let us in!" The couple living there opened the door to see four very wet children.

"Oh dear! What happened? Where are your parents?" The wife said.

"Miss! We had a break in." Arthur replied. Brittany and Matthew looked at him confused. "The man attacked my parents killing them both and came after us. So I'm asking you. I'm begging you please. Shelter us and call the cops."

"Of course!" The husband said. "I'll go call the police." He said heading into the other room and the wife led the kids inside. The husband quickly locked the door, and then made his way to the phone.

"I'm going to make you some hot chocolate and get you some blankets. Alright?" The wife said frantically rushing out and quickly around them blankets and went around the house locking the doors and windows. The she brought them all a cup of hot chocolate. The kids said thank you and took the cups. Alfred was still pretty shaken up and didn't say anything. Arthur held Alfred close and waited for the police to show up. It only took a couple of minutes for them to arrive. The police came in and Arthur walked up to them.

"I am Arthur Kirkland. I live in the house next door." Arthur said.

"Alright. What happened?" They asked. Arthur explained everything that had happened. The police then went over to the Kirkland house. They came back with two body bags and put them in the ambulance.

"Well the attacker left the crime scene before we got here. So we are sorry we haven't caught him yet, but we are hunting him down." A policeman said.

"Thank you." Arthur replied.

"Now you are your siblings are going to have to come down to the station so we can get everything all sorted out." He said.

"Of course officer." Arthur nodded. The officer led them all to the car. Brittany got in the front seat. Matthew and Alfred sat in the back with Arthur. Arthur watched through the back window as the house grew smaller until they turned the corner and it all vanished along with the life that he led. Alfred still seemed to be in some sort of shock since hadn't spoken in quite a while. Arthur turned away from the window once the house disappeared from view and looked down at Alfred watching him closely. He was just staring at the back of the chair in front of him, he looked to be in a daze. Arthur set his hand on Alfred's shoulder.

"Alfred.." He said. The boy jumped a little and looked up at Arthur.

"Alfred…you…you alright?" He asked softly. Alfred stared at him for a moment but nodded his head. Arthur not convinced. He hugged Alfred close.

"Its alright Alfred. I'm here for you. I will protect you." He said. Alfred, as if coming back to reality, hugged Arthur back tightly. "I swear Alfred, I will protect you." Matthew watched them silently. Soon enough they reached the police station. Arthur helped Alfred out of the car. Matthew got out by himself and walked up following behind them. Brittany walked alongside Matthew and held his hand. Matthew just walked forwards ignoring everything. This was the second time he had gone through this. He had stopped caring by this point. Also it was the second time Alfred had acted like this. They walked into the station to see the chief waiting for them. Matthew and Alfred had met him before. Chief Ludwig is what people called him.

"Hello." He said formally. "I am Chief Ludwig. These are unfortunate circumstances to be meeting. You have my condolences."

"Thank you sir." Arthur said.

"Please follow me. There are matters of your guardian or there lack of problems." He said. They followed Ludwig into his office. "Please sit." He gestured to the couch and a couple of chairs. The younger boys took the couch and Brittany and Arthur each took a chair. Ludwig sat at his desk. "Now. None of you have a legal guardian anymore. So how do you want to go about this?" He asked Arthur.

"We're not really sure.." Arthur replied. Ludwig sighed.

"Well, we can put you all up for adoption or we can let another family member, maybe a grandparent could adopt you or you can take full responsibility of all your siblings." He said.

"I'll take guardianship over them." Arthur said. Ludwig looked at him closely.

"Alright you will have to go to court though." He said.

"That's fine." Arthur replied. Ludwig sighed.

"Alright. Well do you have a place to stay for the night before we file a case?" He asked.

"..No.." Arthur said. Ludwig sighed again.

"Alright. I will rent a hotel room for you." He called up the hotel closest to the police station.

"Thank you." Arthur said. Ludwig rented them a room and then led them to his car. "Arthur, I'm going to drop your siblings off and the new will go back to your house and get you all a change of clothes. Alright?" He said.

"Sure." Arthur replied.

"Alright." He said. They drove quietly until they reached the hotel. Ludwig checked them in. Brittany and the boys went up to the room while Arthur and Ludwig went back to the car. Arthur rode in the car silently. They soon reached his home. It now had an eerie feel to it. Ludwig led him to the front door and held up the caution tape for him to walk under. Arthur ducked under it and went inside. He looked around his living room. There were numbers scattered around his living room and in the kitchen. He didn't dare try to go in there. All he could look at was the puddle of blood on the floor, that had started to dry. Arthur finally felt the sadness. 'My parents.. are..dead..' He felt the tears begin to run down his cheeks. He wiped the tears away and headed for the stairs. He quickly got clothes for all of them and put them in a bag. Then he went back down the stairs. He met Ludwig in the main hall.

"You ready?" Ludwig asked tiredly. He looked around the crime scene with sad tired eyes. "You know I joined the force to stop things like this from happening but I seem to keep missing them. This one and the one two years ago that took your siblings parents lives.."

"You worked that case as well?" Arthur asked and he watched him. He didn't know that Alfred and Matthew ever had anything like this happen but he decided to go along with Ludwig so he could find out. "Yea. It was horrid. They house burned down the two bodies found even though chard it was obvious they suffered. Broken bones and blood caramelized on the floor. Their sister is a real nut case to do that to them." He replied.

"Ah.. I see.." Arthur said.

"Well lets go…" Ludwig said. "We don't want to be here anymore then we have to be." Arthur followed him back out into the car. It was another quiet drive back to the hotel.

"Have a good night and try to get some sleep." Ludwig said as he dropped him off.

"I'll try too." Arthur replied. "Thanks for everything." He shut the car door and then headed into the hotel. He quietly walked into his room. There were two queen sized beds. Brittany was on one and the boys were on other. Arthur saw the couch and pulled it out. He set the bags down and laid down on the couch fully clothed. No one said a word. The room was almost dead silent. He knew he would never get any sleep but the tried anyway, and somehow he managed to fall asleep only to be pledged with dreams of relieving the night before.


	5. Chapter 5

**ALO! I'm back! From being lazy and not uploading...heh...heh...heh... **

**Anyway! Hope you enjoy the new chapter. I'm talking too much. **

Chapter 5

A couple of months had pasted. Arthur had won the case, and taken custody of his siblings. He also became the owner of their parent's house and all of their belongings. He knew no one wanted to return to that house so he slid most of their things and bought a smaller house for them. He had a great deal of money that had already been invested in the bank and stocks leaving him a very rich eighteen year old. Though, due to what happened it was requested that all of them would have to do some therapy. They quickly found out that Brittany and Matthew were more of less alright but Alfred and Arthur were a different story all together. Alfred's session didn't go as well as Arthur's…. to say the least. It started out with Alfred walking into the office of Mr. Roderich Ederstien.

"Hello Alfred. I am Mr. Ederstien. It is nice to meet you." He said kindly.

"Hi.." Alfred replied.

"Please, sit down Alfred." He gestured to the couch. Alfred sat down and looked around the room. It was pretty plain and kind of boring. There were some musical type pictures on the walls. Alfred sighed. He didn't want to go through this. He just wanted to go back home.

"Alright, Alfred. Do you know why you are here?" He asked.

"Because my parents died..?" Alfred replied. 'Stupid question..'

He shook his head. "No. You are here because the people that care about you are worried that you might be suffering, and it is my job to help you."

"Ah.." Alfred said. '… I'm not suffering. I'm completely fine.' He thought.

"Alright. Now we are going to talk about your parent's death." Mr. Ederstien said.

"…. Which one.." Alfred said reluctantly.

"Your real parents." He said. Alfred went silent looking down. "We don't have to go straight in if you don't want too, but we have to talk about this. It's obvious this is what hurts you the most."

"What is there to talk about? It happened…. there's nothing more to say..." Alfred said. The therapist shook his head. "I know that's not how you feel about it and so do you." He said. Alfred frowned. 'What does he know anyway? He wasn't there! He doesn't know anything about what I've been through! He doesn't know how I feel about anything!' He thought.

"How about we start by you describing what happened." He said. Alfred thought for a moment.

"I-It was storming. Dad was at work and Matthew was at a friend's house…" he started slowly. Mr. Ederstien nodded. "And what were you doing? What happened next?"

"I-I was in my room… playing with… something.. Mom was in the kitchen making dinner… T-Then I heard her scream…" Alfred said. He was starting to get a horrible headache. Alex was standing right next to him yelling at the therapist. "Dude! Stop it!" But he didn't seem to notice Alex at all. "Were you scared when you heard the scream? What did you do?"

"I p-panicked… I went out of m-my room and down the stairs… s-she was still screaming…"

"It's alright Alfred. Just breathe. Calm, and try to continue if you can."

"….Then.. I also heard laughter.."

"Who's laughter?"

"I-It was hers.. a-and she was… then she saw me.. I was next.. Dad came home and he.. a-and then me.. I'm always next.. I'm always next.. I'm always next…" Alfred stuttered. His head was pounding and he could hardly hear himself speak.

"Alfred! It's alright! Just breathe! Calm down!" He got up and walked over to Alfred trying to calm him down. It took a couple of minutes, but eventually Alfred seemed to calm down a tad. He still had the headache which quickly turned into a migraine. He held his head in his hands trying to mentally calm himself. The therapist watched him closely. "Alright Alfred. That's enough for is session. I want to talk to your brother." He said. Alfred slowly nodded. Mr. Ederstien stood up. "I'll go get him. Just stay here alright?" Alfred nodded again not looking up. He walked out of the room. "Arthur." He called. Arthur looked up and walked over to Mr. Ederstien. "Yes?" He asked.

"We need to talk about your brother." He said.

"Eh? What happened?" Arthur said.

"Well it seems your brother has some mental trauma." The therapist said.

"Mental trauma?" Arthur repeated. "Yes. Hopefully it hasn't gone as far as for him to get PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I tried to have him describe his parents death and it didn't go too well. Does he by chance have any fears that could create a trigger and make him act in a certain emotional or psychological way?" He asked. Arthur was stunned. "Umm… not that I know of…" He thought about it. "He's afraid of thunder storms I guess.. but that's it.." He said. Mr. Ederstien nodded. "How does he usually react to storms?" Arthur thought about it. "well he always hides when its storming, and if you come near him he usually cringes away. Well for everyone else but me. "

"Sounds like that could be a trigger. It's interesting that he would let you near him though. Do you know if he either has nightmares or sleeping troubles?" He asked.

"Um.. not that I know of.. whenever I take care of him he doesn't.."

"Interesting.. Well be sure to keep an eye on him and let me know if you notice anything else."

"Umm alright… Anything else?"

"I would like to have more sessions with him. Maybe meet twice a week after school."

"And what do you think that will accomplish?"

"I don't want him to feel like this and be afraid forever. If it gets worse it will mentally damage him and he won't be the same. I am hoping that I can help him get through it little by little."

Arthur thought about this. "Alright. What can I do to help?"

"Keep him composed, and try to find out what his other triggers could be. Once you find those out try to keep him away and calm. Also if he doesn't want to talk about something don't push it. He'll go into an irritable mood." The therapist said.

"Alright I will watch him closely." Arthur said.

"Thank you. You can take him home now." Mr. Ederstien said.

"Thank you." Arthur replied. The two walked into the room were Alfred was. He was pacing back and forth. The therapist turned to Arthur. "He's still in mental shock, but he should calm down soon."

Arthur watched him concerned. "Alfred?"

Alfred stopped and looked over at him. One second later Arthur was being hugged tightly. Arthur held him close. "Come on Alfred. Let's go home." He said. Alfred nodded and followed him out. Arthur nodded at the therapist as he walked out.

…O….o…...o….O…

Three years have passed. Alfred had been going to therapy on a regular basis. Things had been going pretty well. He had not gotten over everything but they were getting there. Then one morning everything changed. Arthur was sitting at the table getting ready for work reading the newspaper. As Alfred skimmed the headlines boredly. Until he came across a certain story on page two. "Hmm…. Well that's interesting, a black widow." He mumbled. He looked down to the picture of the latest victim and the black widow herself. 'Poor guy. Well he did marry a twenty-three year old what did he expect?' Then Alfred looked closer at the picture and froze. Arthur folded the paper up leaving that page open on the table. "So what's new Al-Alfred?! What's wrong?!" He said.

It was her. She was in town. Alfred couldn't believe it. His whole body began to tremble. "Alfred?!" Arthur stood up watching Alfred's wide eyes. Alfred tried to stand up but he had to use the table as support. Arthur rushed over to him holding him up. "Alfred say something!" Alfred only shook his head. "No…no..no..NO!" He yelled running out of the room. Arthur stood there staring after him. Confused, hurt, and alone, he followed Alfred quickly. Alfred slammed the door to his bedroom and barricaded it. 'Now she can't fine me.' He thought hiding in a corner of his room. A soft knock came on the door. Alfred went silent thinking that it was her at the door.

"Alfred, please."

Alfred could hear her voice pleading him to come out and telling him that everything was ok. Telling him that she was alright. Telling him that he should come out and everything would be back to normal.

"Alfred! Open this door!"

She would then start pounding on the door, and then she broke it down, and… and then..

"Alfred! Alfred!" The door began to slowly open. Alfred hugged his knees and put his head down. Footsteps slowly came towards him, a shadow crept its way over to him. He held his breath. Maybe if he didn't move or breathe she wouldn't see him. Then a hand came to rest on his shoulder. He jumped slightly and hugged his knees tighter. Then two arms wrapped around him. "Alfred. Its Arthur…please tell me…what's wrong…"

"….. I-It was h-her.." He mumbled.

"Who? Alfred it's alright. I'm here. I'm never going to let anyone hurt you. I'm going to protect you. Just tell me who it was."

"….A…..A…"

Arthur hugged him tighter. "Alfred it's alright. Just tell me." Alfred shook his head. He really was having problems saying her name. Alfred held him close rocking him back and forth. "Shhhh… Alfred.. it's alright.." Arthur stroked his head softly. "It's alright… I'm here to protect you… no one will ever hurt you again.. it's alright Alfred… I will always protect you.." Alfred seemed to calm down after a short while. Then Alfred seemed to snap back to normal when he realized he would be late for school. He got up quickly. "Crap! I'm going to be late!" He ran down the stairs and head out of his room to meet the bus. "But… Alfred…" Arthur hadn't moved. He was extremely confused by what just happened. Alfred grabbed his bag and met Matthew outside. They left before Arthur could stop them. The two got on the bus and Alfred went towards the back to sit by Ivan.

"Morning Alfred. Are you alright? You seem a bit бледный…" Ivan said.

"Nah, I'm fine." Alfred grinned. Ivan looked at him for a moment then decided not to dwell on it. "Da. Sorry."

"So how have you been Iv?" Alfred asked.

"I've been alright. You?"

"Pretty good."

"Alright." Ivan pulled out his text book for physics. After a short while they reached the school and the day went by pretty smoothly. Until lunch. It was a beautiful day so the boys decided to eat lunch outside. Alfred and Ivan went and sat on their favorite bench. When something caught Alfred's eye and he froze. He saw someone on the street across from the school that looked all too familiar. He dropped the food he was holding and just stared. She looked back at him smiling. Alfred went pale. His mind and heart were racing. He quickly got up and ran into the school. Ivan watched him confused. "Alfred? What's wrong?" He called after him. Alfred didn't turn back. Once he was inside he went to the nearest janitor's closet and locked himself in. He shut off the light and hid in the corner hugging his knees. "She couldn't have found me… She couldn't have found me.." He repeated quietly. There was a lot of commotion outside the door but Alfred didn't care. He was starting to have flash backs. He held his head in pain. There were multiple knocks on the door that began to grow louder and louder. Alfred covered his ears and closed his eyes. The time seems to almost come to stop. The memories were burning behind his eyes. The knocking was hammering away at his sanity.

"GO AWAY!" Alfred threw a heavy bottle of bleach at the door. It burst. The bleach drenched him. It began to soak through his clothes burning his skin, but he didn't care. He didn't even feel the pain from it. His head was aching, throbbing, the pain unbearable, and the memories carved into his mind. Scorch marks of tortured passed. The knocking stopped, but only for a few minutes. Alfred thought his head was going to explode. Then a voice reached him. Muffled by the door but even then he knew who it was. He looked up slightly. '…. Was it really him? He was always there when things were bad…'

"Alfred. It's Arthur. Please unlock the door."

Alfred slowly got up and walked towards the door. He hesitantly put his hand on the doorknob and unlocked it. He then took a few steps to the side. The door opened slowly. Arthur took a couple steps in and looked around. "Alfred!" When he saw Alfred, he looked pale and was covered in bleach. "Oh Alfred. Come on it's alright. What happened?"

"…. I-I saw h-her…" Alfred mumbled. Arthur grabbed Alfred and hugged him.

"Alfred who did you see? Who is her? You need to tell me if I'm going to protect you from her!" Arthur said.

"Y-you can't! S-She'll just hurt you. I don't want you t-to get hurt.." Alfred hugged him tightly. Arthur held him close. "I won't let her touch you Alfred. I promise she won't hurt any of us."

Alfred was going to protest again, but he knew it would be useless with Arthur's mind set. Arthur pulled him to his feet slowly. "Come on Alfred. Let's go home." Hesitantly and reluctantly Alfred followed his brother. They walked out of the school quickly. All the students watched confused, some smirking and laughing. Alfred only noticed Ivan who stood off to the side watching him with a worried and sad look. Though for Alfred everything started to blur together. It just didn't seem real anymore. Alfred began to have problems seeing straight. He felt like the ground was shaking. He couldn't breathe. Everything was spinning, he gasped for air. Then everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey. Again. Another Chapter. Yay! **

**I'm tired. Sorry for the random...stuff that happens in this one. Also sorry for any errors. Might fix that later. **

Chapter 6

After that episode Alfred hadn't been doing very well. He was always alert, he jumped at the slightest noise, and he always wanted to be alone. His therapist suggested that he could take some medications to help calm himself down, but those meds needed other meds so that the side effects wouldn't be as bad. The therapist gave him two bottles, and he said it would be enough for two weeks. Arthur hated the idea of Alfred taking medications, but Alfred didn't want to feel so afraid anymore. He was sick of it. Alfred started taking them immediately. At first nothing happened, but after a little bit he began to feel himself become more calm. He also seemed a lot happier than before. Everyone noticed it, but after the first week, Alfred noticed some changes. Not in himself but in Alex. He first saw it when he was waiting for the bus to come. It was early fall so it was a bit chilly. Alfred was standing by himself. Matthew had gotten sick that day and couldn't go. Alfred looked around when all of the sudden he heard yelling.

"AAALLLFFFREEEEEEED!" He turned to see Alex frolicking towards him. "What the…" He muttered.

"ALLLLFFRRREEEEEEDD!" Alex tackled Alfred. "ALEX! Get off!" Alex hugged him tight and smiled widely.

"NUUUUUU WWWOOOVVEE WOOOUUUU!" Alex said in a child's voice. Alfred was able to push Alex off after a minute. "What the heck is wrong with you?!" Alfred asked harshly. Alex looked at him pouting. "But… I wove wou…"

"You've never said that before in our life…" Alfred replied. Alex was zoning out looking at a cloud. "Hehe poof…" He looked at Alfred blankly. "Oh…well… I do…" Then he tackled him again.

"Get off!" Alfred pushed him off again. He stood up and noticed the bus coming towards him. He sighed with relief and when the bus rolled to a stop he quickly hopped on and sat down by Ivan. Alex fell down as the bus moved forwards. "Hehe.. whoopsie…"

Alfred did his best to ignore him the whole way to school while Alex dug through people's bags while they weren't looking. Alex was skipping and running around the school for most of the day, Alfred was happy for that, but during study hall it just got worse.

"Hey Alfred. Hey Alfred. Hey Alfred. Hey Alfred!" Alex repeated himself looking over Alfred's shoulder. Alfred's left eye started to twitch. Alex giggled. Annoyed and unable to concentrate on his school work, because of Alex, Alfred decided to have his head become one with the table. Alex laughed at him. "Hehehe silly Alfred! Don't you know that's bad for you?" Alfred ignored him and did it again hoping to give himself a headache and make Alex vanish. "Silly goose." Alex giggled. Alfred groaned. Ivan looked at him concerned. "Alfred are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah… I-" Alfred was going to say more but he remembered that no one else believed that Alex was real. "It's nothing…"

Ivan watched him worried. "Did you…" He trailed off looking away.

"What?" Alfred asked sitting normally.

"I was just wondering if you had taken…you know…them…" He didn't look at Alfred.

"The meds?" Alfred asked. Ivan nodded. "Well… Yeah.. It's been about a week now." Alfred said.

"So you took them on time today?" Ivan asked worriedly.

"Of course. Why do you ask?" Alfred replied confused.

"… You just seem off today." Ivan mumbled.

"It's just one of those days.." Alfred said. Ivan watched him for a moment. "Alright."

"I'm fine Ivan." Alfred said reassuringly. Ivan slowly went back to his work. Alfred glanced back at Alex who was spinning in circles singing the Barney song. He just shook his dead and went back to his school work. Then all of the sudden he felt someone breathe down his neck. Frowning he turned around to see who it was. For a split second he saw Amelia standing behind him smiling, but for once Alfred was thankful that it was Francis. "What do you want Francis?" He asked annoyed.

"No reason in particular." He said. Alex walked up to Francis and tried to hug him but his arms went straight through and he frowned. Alfred sighed and turned back to his workbook trying to ignore the two.

For the rest of the day Alex stalked Francis trying to hug him. Alfred was happy that Alex was away from him but he knew that if Alex wasn't able to do something he'd turn to…himself. He really hated it when Alex did that and eventually Alex came back annoyed. Alfred tried to ignore him as he went towards his locker.

"Aaaaaallllfrrreeeeed." He moaned.

"What?!" Alfred grumbled under his breath.

"No one will hug me!" He complained.

"That's because your invisible to the world." Alfred mumbled quietly.

"WHAT?!" He yelled.

"You should know that." Alfred said calmly while opening his locker.

"YOU LIE!" Alex began to spazz. "I'm real! I'm not invisible! People can see me!"

Alfred sighed closing his locked and walked away from him. Alex started running through the hallways. "CAN ANYONE SEE ME?!" He yelled. When no one responded or even looked at him he realized that nobody really could see him. Alex then got an idea. He turned towards his other self. "HEY ALFRED!" He yelled down the hall pointing at him. Alfred turned to him confused. "It's my turn!" Alex yelled then he began to run at Alfred. The teen's eyes widened. "No… oh please no.. This can't be happening…" Alex then lunged at him. Alfred closed his eyes in preparation for impact. He was shoved back and fell to the ground with a hard thump. He opened his eyes while standing up. "Alex! Look at what you did! Now everyone is going to think I'm a weirdo!" He looked at Alex who was facing away from him huddled like he was going to be hit. "Hey Alex?" No one turned or started at Alfred as he walked around Alex to see his face. Before Alfred could see him Francis walked straight up to them. He walked right through Alfred. It felt cold and weird.

"Hey Alfred! Would you mind getting out of my way?!" He said cruelly. Alex stared at him blankly. "You…You can see me?!" He pointed at his own chest. Alfred tried to get Francis' attention but it didn't work. "Crap this is gonna go badly." He said. Francis glared at him annoyed. "Yes idiot." A giant smile spread across Alex's face. "YAY!" He hugged Francis swinging him around in the air then set him down and ran off yelling about how everyone could see him. Alfred face palmed. "Someone kill me now.." He groaned. Then Alex ran to Ivan. "Hey Iv! That's your name right?!" He said happily. Ivan looked disturbed. "Da…" Alex hugged him. "I'm Alex! And you can see me!"

Alfred sat in a corner not wanting to look anymore. Ivan hugged him tightly. "Hey let me go!" Alex complained. "I'm sorry Alex but.." He hit Alex over the head knocking him out. "I can't let you do things like this."

Alfred's head all of the sudden hurt. He felt dizzy as well. He looked towards where Ivan and Alex were. He stumbled towards them trying to stay close. He was having a hard time standing up and even fell against them, but he went right through both of them and fell to the floor. He stayed there for moment while people walked right through him. He didn't like not being able to be seen. After a minute or so he stood up and realized he had lost Ivan and Alex. He frowned and walked around to see if he could find them. Eventually he wandered to the front doors where he saw Ivan helping Alex into Arthur's car. He ran to try and catch up with them but they drove off before he could reach them. "Crap! Alex and I can't be more than a mile apart! How the heck does Alex teleport everywhere….." Alfred panicked. He started to chase the car at a loss. He chased it all the way home, and once they made it Alfred passed out onto the front lawn. Alex and Arthur stepped out of the car. "Arthur! I'm not Alfred! I'm Alex!" He said. Alfred looked up at them tiredly. "You…idiots…" He panted. Alex looked at him confused. "What are you doing Alfred? You know you can just teleport right?"

"I don't know how you freak…" He rolled over onto his back. Alex rolled his eyes. "Like this!" Nothing happened. Alex looked at himself confused. "Ooooooooh Riiiiiggghhht. I have a body now…hmm.." Arthur just watched Alex baffled. Alex walked over to Alfred. "Alright… Um…just don't think about anything except where you want to go… I guess… try it…"

"I changed my mind." Alfred said getting up and tacking Alex.

"HEY! Stop that!" Alex yelled.

"Give me back my body!" Alfred yelled back.

"It's not yours! It's ours!" Alex yelled. The two rolled around wrestling over their body. Arthur just watched the scene of unsure what to do. All he saw was his brother rolling around yelling about something. "Uh… A-Alfred? W-what are you doing?" Arthur asked scared and confused.

"For the last time I'm Alex! Not Alfred!" Alex yelled finally pushing Alfred off and standing up. "Screw you Alfred! It's my turn to be seen for once! People actually see me!"

Alfred frowned and stood up as well. Arthur walked over to Alex. "Let's….go inside… alright?" He grabbed Alex's arm and led him into the house. Alfred followed them inside. He didn't like where this was going. This is exactly how Alexis took over. Arthur sat Alex down on the couch. "Alfred-"

"Alex." Alex corrected him. "Right… Alex.. What's happening here?" Arthur asked.

"Well, I got sick of not being seen by other people and took over Alfred's body." He replied. Arthur stared at him. "W-w-what?!" Arthur stammered. "Oh don't worry. Alfred is still here. You just can't seem him. Just like how I was." Alex smirked. Arthur stared at Alex horrified.

"Stop looking so afraid Arthur. I've always been around." Alex said. Arthur swallowed loudly before responding. "B-but… you can't be real…. You are just a figment of Alfred's imagination.." Arthur started to shake from fear. Alex frowned. "I am not! That's what everybody says! I'm so sick of it!" He stood up angrily. Arthur froze with wide eyes as he tried to speak. "Now just ca-calm down Alfred-"

"I'm Alex!" He yelled furiously at Arthur. "Nobody gets it right! Now I can see why Alexis did what she did!" Both Arthur and Alfred froze. "A-Alex..? You're not…thinking of.,..doing what… she did… are you?" Alfred asked. Alex turned on the spot and glared at Alfred enraged. "What?! You mean kill our parents by stabbing them to death and burning down the house!?" He almost screamed at him. Alfred flinched and looked away. Arthur was in shock. "Look at me Alfred!" Alex yelled. Alfred turned his back to Alex. "I swear I will kill him Alfred!" Alex pointed at Arthur. "If you don't look at me right now!"

Alfred faced him. "Don't you dare!" He growled.

"Now he pays attention to me!" Alex yelled. "Yea well why shouldn't I?!" He glared at him. Alfred watched him in anger but quickly realized something was off about Alex. He was crying. Alfred's anger almost seemed to vanish. He now knew what Alex had been going through all these years. Though it wasn't really his fault that no one believed Alex was real. All the anger and rage showed in Alex's eyes, but behind that, was pain, sadness, and loneliness. Alex had been alone for so long. The pain from never being noticed had eaten away at him. He was in agony. Alfred felt bad for Alex. For all that he had been through and he would never tell Alex this, but he really enjoyed his company. Even if he was loopy from the meds. The tears began to roll down Alex's cheek as he glared at Alfred. The anger faded from his eyes and was replaced by grief. "Why…does no one care…" He bawled. Alfred sighed and walked over to Alex. He looked at Alfred sadly. He wouldn't have done this on any other occasion, but he hugged Alex tightly. Alex looked surprised, but then slowly hugged him back. "It's alright Alex." Alfred said.

"Okay…" Alex said. "You can have our body back… for now though." He smirked returning to his old self. Alfred sighed and then smiled. "Fine." Arthur, who was scared and confused, watched what this 'Alex' was doing. He seemed to be hugging air but then he dropped his arms. He seemed to look calmer than before. He wiped his eyes. "Darn it Alex. My face is wet now."

Arthur watched confused and for a moment he saw a person standing right across from Alfred. "Hehe sorry!" He heard a voice say before it disappeared along with the person. Alfred turned to Arthur with an apologetic smile. "Sorry 'bout that." Arthur just stared at him. Alfred looked at the time. "Crap I have a ton of homework to do." Alfred grabbed his backpack and head up to his room. Arthur watched him run off staring at him. "Heheh…." He began to laugh oddly. "Hehehe… ta-two Alfred's..haha yea..two.." He walked out of the room staring off into space and chuckling strangely to himself


	7. Chapter 7

**I feel like a horrible person for not uploading this months ago. It's just been sitting there waiting to be edited. Oh well. At least it's out now. Enjoy**

Chapter 7

The next day Alfred woke up to Arthur standing over him. His face seemed wrong. It turned twisted and then into a creepy smile. "Hey...Arthur..." Alfred mumbled. Arthur chuckled. "Morning...you are not going to school today..." He chuckled again.  
"... Why not?" Alfred looked at him confused.  
"After your...thing yesterday..." He looked disturbed. "We are going back to your therapist. I think you need to see him. I have an appointment set up in a bit."  
"... Okay..." Alfred replied a little frightened by his brother. He smiled again. "Alright. Get dressed. I'll be waiting down stairs." He chuckled again. His face going back to a disturbing smile, he turned and slowly walked out. Alfred sat there for a moment trying to comprehend what just happened. After a minute he got dressed and headed out of his room. Alex followed slowly. "Dude...I think we messed your brother up..."

"... Possibly..." Alfred mumbled. Alex shrugged. "Oh well..." He walked to the door and opened it. "Uh …hey Alfred..." He looked at him. "Sorry about yesterday...I didn't mean to...threaten our bro..." He turned and walked out. Alfred smiled and followed him out "It's alright." Alex had all of a sudden disappeared. "He must have hated having to say sorry." Alfred smirked at this thought. He hurried down the stairs to meet his brother. Arthur was pacing around slowly mumbling to himself and smiling the same smile. His eyes were unfocused but intense. Alfred looked around to see if Matthew or Brittany were around but found himself alone. "Hey Arthur... Where's Mattie?" Alfred asked. Matthew had always been an early riser and it was strange not seeing him around. Arthur turned to him. His face seemed normal for once as it looked at him puzzled. Then he smiled sweetly. Too sweetly. It became more disturbing the smile he wore before. He giggled. "Who?" His voice was high and practically overflow sling with sugar. It was too sweet, it was just disgusting. "Hehe...who is Mattie?"  
"... Our brother... Matthew..." Alfred said slowly. Something was horribly off with Arthur. He looked puzzled for a bit. Some of his old self showed when he thought. "I'm sorry...I don't know who you are talking about..." He smiled his disgustingly sweet smile. "Come on now." He giggled. "We have to go." "...okay..." Alfred said confused by Arthur's words. Arthur walked to the car smiling and humming some storage tune that made no sense. Alfred got in silently growing somewhat frightful of his brother. Alfred stayed quiet the whole ride there. He wasn't quite sure what to do about the whole situation. Arthur continued to hum and mumble to himself. Then they arrived. Both of them got out of the car and headed inside. Arthur's face seemed to relax and he began to look like himself again. Alfred saw this. He looked at Alex to see if he saw it as well. Alex had this perplexed look on his face. "What is wrong with him..." Arthur seemed to behave normally again. His expressions their usual calm, his movements subtle and gentlemen like. He seemed average again. Alfred didn't like what was going on, but… if he brought it up with Arthur he'd probably just shrug it off. So he remained silent hoping Arthur wouldn't go back to being that thing he was earlier. 'Maybe he just hasn't had his tea yet or something...' Alfred thought. Alex scoffed at him. "Yeah, more like maybe he hasn't put in his brains this morning." He laughed at whatever joke he was trying to make. '... That doesn't even make any sense...' Alex scowled at him. 'Alright alright geez calm down.'

Arthur walked up to the desk in the mental health ward and talks to the lady behind the desk before sitting down. Alfred sat down next to him. Arthur looked around and waited patiently until Alfred's therapist, Mr. Ederstien came out. He came out and smiled. "Morning Alfred. Arthur." Arthur nodded. "Alfred come I hear we need to talk." Alfred nodded and followed. He opened the door to his office and held it open for Alfred. He walked inside with the doctor closing the door behind them. He gestured him to sit and then sat across from him. "So Alfred. What happened yesterday?" Alfred sat down and tried to think how to explain the whole event. Hardly anyone would believe him about Alex. The therapist waited silently, watching him. "... It's really hard to explain..." Alfred finally said.  
"Try." He said.  
"Long story short, basically Alex got really pissed off on how he couldn't have anyone but me see him and so he took control and made a mess of everything and then went all angry crazy at Arthur and threatened to kill him but I got him to calm down..." The therapist didn't move. He didn't flinch or show and signs of surprise or disturbance or anything. "Alex. Your other self? That's what you called him right? Why was he acting this way? What set him off?"  
"I'm not quite sure...but ever since I started taking the meds he's been acting loopy and weird, even though I feel fine." Alfred replied.  
"Have the meds had any effect on you?"  
"I feel calmer than I did before... But nothing has happened to me like it did to Alex."  
"So no side effects? No dullness? Just calm? Have you been off the pills at all?"  
Alfred shook his head. He jotted down a few notes. "Maybe try being off the pills. If you don't like the change go back on. You can discus with your brother and decide."  
"Okay." Alfred said. He smiled. "Alright. Well do you have anything you wish to talk about?"  
"No." Alfred shook his head. He watched him for a moment. "Alright. Well that's all or today." He stood up. Alfred stood up as well and both of them walked towards the doo He opened to for Alfred and they both walked out to meet Arthur. "Arthur I need to speak to you." He led Arthur into his office and closed the door. Alfred sat down and waited for them. "Arthur from what I can tell your brother has a split personality." Arthur looked confused. "What do you mean...he's had Alex his whole life...how is that a split personality?" The therapist shook his head. "Some people can be born with a split personality that just develops as they grow older. It more common for one to have multiple when born with it though."  
"So you are saying there could be more inside of Alfred?" Arthur laughed nervously. A disturbing look flashed across his face and then vanished. The therapist looked concerned. "Um...yes I am...are...are you alright?" Arthur nodded slowly. "So...will...will I be able to see those too?" He asked shakily. The therapist looked disturbed by this comment. "You saw him? You saw Alex? I'm sorry but what are you talking about? I'm sorry but Arthur you can't see them. It's impossible. You may have seem Alfred acting like them-" Arthur grabbed him arm and dug his nails in. The therapist cringed. "No!" He almost yelled. He stared at Mr. Ederstien intensely and smiled crazily. "I saw Alfred standing there and another person that looked almost but not identical to him standing next to him! He winked at me and said sorry! Before disappearing!" The therapist looked at him. Fear clouded his eyes even though they focused on him perfectly. "Please...let go..." Arthur realized her was cutting off the circulation in his arm and let go quickly readjusting himself. "I'm sorry...I don't know what came over me...I've just had a tough couple of weeks..." The therapist nodded slowly. "I um...Im sorry but...I'm going to have to ask you to leave...and never come back...that is assault and I can't have you here anymore...I'm sorry..." He walked to the door and opened it. Arthur walked out the door. "Come on Alfred." He said. Alfred followed him out of the building. Arthur looked angry as he dove away. Alfred stayed quiet not wanting to start anything. He drove to a small liquor store by their house. He parked the car and shut it off. "Wait here." Arthur said getting out of the car and walking into the store. Alfred watched baffled. "Hey Alfred..." He looked to see Alex looking concerned. "Should we let him drink? He's never even tasted the stuff before..."  
"... I-.. I dunno... But you heard what happened in Dr. Ederstien 's office..." Alfred replied.  
"...I think. This is going to get bad..." Alex shook his head. "I don't like this...we should be normal..." He mumbled sitting down. "... Alex... There aren't any others... Are there?" Alfred looked at him. "What?" He looked confused.  
"... _ said that there may be others..."  
"...I...I don't know...I'm not inside your head...I just hear specific thoughts..."  
"...oh... Okay..." Alfred looked out the window. Arthur came back out carrying a large brown bag. Alfred kept his gaze out the window, wondering if there was a way to find out if there were any others. Arthur quickly put it in the back seat. "No pills for you by more Alfred." He said abruptly as he climbed into the car not looking at him. Alfred didn't say anything. Not even during the ride home or even when they got home. Arthur brought in the bag and then went into Alfred's room and took the pills. Alfred only went straight into his room. Grabbing his laptop, he sat on his bed hoping to find something to get his mind off of things. He ended up finding no comfort and the pills slowly wore of and the fear returned. He closed his computer and placed it on the floor. Feeling his old self return, Alfred covered himself with blankets curled up in his bed. After a while he fell asleep. He woke up with a jolt a couple hours later when he heard a loud crash. He looked around and got out of bed and slowly walked towards his door. He reached out a shaking hand and grabbed the door. Then he heard another crash like a bottle hitting the wall. Alfred slowly opened the door and poked his head out. A bottle flew past his head and hit the wall at the end of the corridor. He quickly went back in his room and closed the door. "OI!" He head Arthur yelled in a dunked British accent. "Oh crap..." Alfred mumbled.

"Oi! Get out here you git!" He yelled. Alfred slowly opened the door and carefully took a step out. "So the crazy still understands human language!" Alfred just stood by his doorway staying quiet. "Have nothing to say? That's a surprise! What you to good for me now? Aye!? "He didn't reply. He looked at Alfred in blind hatred and threw another bottle just barely missing him and crashing against the door. It shattered on impact and so shards pierced Alfred. The boy grabbed his arm in pain. He inwardly cursed at himself for wearing a short sleeve shirt. "Did that hurt?! Did it?!" He grabbed Alfred's arm where the glass had hit him and squeezed it. Alfred grimaced in pain. ".. Arthur...stop...please.."  
Arthur squeezed harder. "You think I like doing this?! Do you?! I don't want to hurt you! I don't want you all messed up either though!" Blood started trailing down Alfred's arm and on Arthur's hand. It dripped onto the floor as the glass was forced deeper into his skin. He let go of Alfred tossing him against the door. "Sometimes! I wish I had never met you! It's your fault!" Alfred fell onto the floor as his bedroom door flew backwards behind him hitting the wall next to them. Arthur turned away. "You worthless monster! You are just a deformed thing!" Alfred looked down and started chuckling. Arthur stumbled back angrily. "Why you laughing you maggot?!" Alfred looked up at him with a sly smile. "Oh you should be watching your tongue." He stood up shaking his finger at Arthur.  
"How dare you talk back to me!"  
"Me?" He placed his hand on his chest with a surprised face. "Talk back? No... Why would you say that?"  
He raised a hand to hit Alfred. Instead his younger brother's face turned dark and he grabbed Arthur's hand. "You wouldn't dare..." He growled. He glared back him. He jerked his hand back. "What's the bloody point. You are a messed up beast anyway. Can't beat it out of you." He turned away stumbling and walking down the stairs. "No one wants such a messed up kid. I don't know why I had to be plagued with you." "I should be the one saying that. Who wants a drunk for a brother?" Alfred said calmly picking out the glass in his arm.

Arthur shouted something inaudible and went back to breaking bottles. The darkness left Alfred's eyes as he looked around for a moment. He looked at his arm and the glass pieces on the floor. "...what..." Alex stood a little bit away from him. Fear was in his eyes. He was shaking slightly as he stared wide eyed at Alfred. Alfred looked over at Alex. "... What just happened...?" Alex shook his head frantically. His eyes filling with tears caused by fear. "...g-get..." His entire body began to tremble and shack. "...get away...from me...y-you...you monster!" He stumbled backwards, crawling along the wall away from Alfred. The boy stared at him shocked and confused. "A-Alex... What h-happened..." He kept his eyes on Alfred as he crawled along the wall. Alex started to mumble to himself. "I'm...I'm so sorry Alexis...I...I didn't know there was another..." He held his arm out as if to keep Alfred away. He quickly turned and disappeared. Alfred stood in his doorway hurt and confused. He walked into the bathroom to clean his wounds. It grew quiet downstairs. Alfred wrapped his arm in gauze, the best he could using his teeth and good hand. He walked to the stairs and looked down. There was no movement and it was silent. He didn't trust going down, so he went back into his room locking the door. He laid down and tried to sleep. Once he did, he only had recurring nightmares.

The next morning he woke with a jolt. He could remember what he dreamt except that he never wanted to find out. He went down stairs to see his brother passed out on the couch. A couple of empty bottles lay scattered around. Brittany sat next to him looking concerned. She hadn't noticed Alfred. "Oh Arthur...what are you doing to yourself...you are under so much stress..." She stroked his hair and watched him sleep. Alfred pulled on a hoodie to hide the bandages and went into the kitchen to look for food. She didn't look up even as he went by. She just continued to look after Arthur. Alfred grabbed some food and drink, and then headed back towards his bedroom. Arthur woke up before he got to the stairs. "B-Brittany?.. .what… what happened?...gah...my head..." He clutched it in pain. "Where's Alfred? Is he alright?" Alfred heard him awake and sped walked to the stairs. He tried to look around but he couldn't see straight. "Ugh...my head..." He laid back down. "Hush brother...be still..." She pulled a blanket over him and got him a pillow. "Alfred is in his room...you can see him later.." She began to walk away when Arthur called out to her. "Brittany. Tell Alfred...tell him...I'm sorry...for whatever I did last night...I'm not sure...but I know it couldn't have been good..." She nodded and turned. "And Brittany...thank you...for caring for me..." She smiled slightly and walked away. Alfred headed up the stairs and back into his room. He looked over at his calendar and smirked. "At least I'll be gone this weekend. It's gonna be the best yet!" He quietly yelled fist pumping. Then he realized. "Crap! He's coming to get me today!" Alfred ran around his room grabbing items that he would need for the event and for the "homework" that he and Ivan were going to be "working on". He smirked to himself as he packed. "Ha project." He kneeled down next to his bed and looked around making sure his door was closed. Before pulling up a floor board and pulling out a box. "Hehe" He looked down at his items proudly and grabbed a couple of things. "I need to get a few of these signed." He mumbled gently putting them in his bag. Then he pulled out a pair of plain black dress pants. "Alright! Now...red captain shirt or yellow?" He looked down at the two shirts. He shrugged. "I'll just take them both." He placed them both in his bag and closed it tight. Then he slowly went downstairs. He looked around to see if anyone was around. Arthur was still lying on the couch. He moaned from pain and shifted slightly. He stood at the door waiting for Ivan to pull up when his phone went off. He panicked trying to silence it before Arthur noticed. But to no avail. "Alfred?" Arthur called from the couch. "Darn it!" He muttered to himself. He did manage to silence his phone but he still cursed at himself inwardly for not doing it earlier. He turned and walked a little closer to the couch. "Hey Arthur..." He responded unhappily. "What's up Alfred?" He croaked. "Just waiting for Ivan to get me." He said reluctantly. "Oh yea...you going to Ivan's to work on a big project right?...well I hope you get it done and have fun..." Alfred scoffed lightly. "...hey...Alfred..." Arthur said sadly. "...yea?" He didn't really care what Arthur had to say but responded anyway. "I..." A honk from outside interrupted him. "Oh that's Ivan. See ya bro!" Alfred rushed out the door. "I'm sorry..." Arthur called after him. But Alfred had already left and never heard what Arthur had to say.


End file.
